Postponing a flight cost is more than the ticket - why?

Hi

Booked a return flight to NYC in December, I am flying UC and paid for the flight in cash as it was something like £1300 which I thought was great and plus you get 10 tier points so figured that was better than using my miles.

I have since considered changing it and I was told it would cost something like £4000!!, could this be right or is it worth me calling up again?

My ticket is z class.

Thanks

Yes it is absolutely possible and welcome to the world of fare classes and restrictions. Z fares for example can only be booked with advance purchase restrictions and a limited number of them are available on each flight. On the new flight you're looking at 't's likely there are no Z's so VS will automatically slot you into the next lowest available fare class - additionally you booked a sale fare, so even if you did rebook in Z on another date that sale fare would not be available and you'll likely be looking at at least an additional £1,000.

Thanks for clarifying Slinky.

With airlines, you pay for three things:

- The Route
- The Seat/Class
- Flexibility

Cheaper fares don't have flexibility, hence change fee to a flexible fare can be eye watering.

Airlines protect the flexibility as that is revenue that cannot be diluted.